Electronic media distribution system

ABSTRACT

A system and method for sharing electronic content. A sending user can specify one or more criteria that a recipient memory device must have to store the content. The sending user can also specify a digital rights management control that can be associated with the content. The content can be transferred to the recipient if the recipient memory device has the specified properties. Software at the recipient can ensure that the content is handled in accordance with the digital rights management controls specified by the sender.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/685,536, filed Oct. 16, 2003, entitled “Electronic Media DistributionSystem,” which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety forall purposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The field of the invention is the distribution of electronicinformation, and in particular in the distribution of electronicinformation stored on a device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a system in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 shows a message flow diagram in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a graphical user interface in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows an interface in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention isshown in FIG. 1. Sender 101 can include a processor 102 coupled tomemory 103. A processor can be a general purpose microprocessor, such asthe Pentium IV processor manufactured by the Intel Corporation of SantaClara, Calif. A processor can be an Application Specific IntegratedCircuit (ASIC) that embodies at least part of the method in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention in hardware and/or firmware.An example of an ASIC is a Digital Signal Processor (DSP). Memory can beany device or combination of devices adapted to store informationelectronically, such as Random Access Memory (RAM); Read Only Memory(ROM); a hard disk; flash memory; a Compact Disk (CD); etc.

Memory 102 stores sender instructions 104 that are adapted to beexecuted by processor 102 to perform at least part of the method inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. For example,sender instructions 104 can provide a sender Graphical User Interface(GUI) to a user at sender 101, through which the user can identifyelectronic content (e.g., a file of any type, including software, music,audio, video, etc.) to transfer to a recipient, and specify a transferparameter, e.g., mandate that the transferred file be persistentlywritten only to a CD at the recipient; mandate that the transferred filecannot be further copied from the memory device on which it is to bestored at the recipient; etc. Such transfer parameters can becommunicated to a server 106 by “sending instructions” that can begenerated by sender instructions 104 and sent from the sender 101 to theserver 106. Sender instructions 104 can cause the selected contentitself to be sent through network 105 to server 106.

Instructions in accordance with various embodiments of the presentinvention can be stored on a medium, such as a hard disk, a CD-ROM, atelecommunications channel (e.g., in transit over a network); flashmemory; and anything that can store digital information.

Server 106 can include a processor 107 coupled to memory 108, whichstores processing instructions 109. Processing instructions 109 can beexecuted by processor 108 to perform at least part of the method inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. For example,processing instructions 109 can send a message to recipient 110 throughnetwork 105, where the message announces to a user at recipient 110 thatcontent sent from sender 101 can be downloaded by recipient 110, e.g.,by selecting a link included in the message.

Recipient 110 can include a processor 111 coupled to memory 112 thatstores recipient instructions 113 that are adapted to be executed byprocessor 111 to perform at least a part of the method in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention. For example, recipientinstructions 113 can receive from server 106 a message indicating thatcertain content from sender 101 is ready to be delivered to recipient110. Recipient instructions 113 can provide a recipient GUI to a user atrecipient 110 through which the recipient user can send a message toserve 106 to send the content to recipient 110. Recipient can alsoinclude various ancillary memory devices, such as storage media A 114,storage media B 115, and other storage media, e.g., including storagemedia Z 116. In one embodiment, storage media A is a flash memorydevice; storage media B is a CD; storage media Z is a DVD; etc.

Processing instructions 109 can receive a request from recipient 110 forthe content and apply a content policy (not shown) in sending thecontent to the recipient. The content policy can be one or more rulespertaining to the content, e.g., to the distribution, storage, use,etc., of the content. The content policy can include instructions storedin memory 108 that are adapted to be executed by a processor (such asprocessor 107), and can also include data, such as rule parameters. Forexample, server 106 can receive instructions from sender 101 indicatingthat certain content from sender 101 may only be installed (persistentlystored) on a CD at recipient 110.

Consistent with the content policy, processing instructions 109 can beexecuted by processor 107 to determine if recipient has the appropriaterecipient instructions 113 (e.g., has recipient instructions 113 at all,has a current version of recipient instructions 113, etc.). In thisexample, recipient instructions 119 include software for writing data toa CD (“CD burning instructions”). If server 106 determines thatrecipient does not have the appropriate recipient instructions 113installed, then server 106 can send (or arrange to have sent) theappropriate recipient instructions 113, which, in this embodiment,include CD burning instructions. When these have been successfullyinstalled at recipient 110, server 106 can exchange messages withrecipient 106 such that the content is sent from server 106 to recipient110 and persistently installed only on a CD, i.e., on storage media B115. Server can ensure that no other persistent copy of the content isstored elsewhere by sending the appropriate data and/or instructions torecipient processor 111, which is executing recipient instructions 113.For example, if no CD is present at recipient 110, or if no CD burninginstructions are installed at recipient 110, then server 106 can refuseto send the content to recipient 110. In this way, sender 106 canadvantageously control the medium onto which content sent from sender101 to recipient 110 (through server 106) is persistently stored.

Server 106 can also provide Digital Rights Management (DRM) services byhandling content from sender 101 consistently with a content policy. DRMincludes technical measures for controlling the distribution,redistribution, storage and/or use of content. For example, server 106can obtain content from sender 101 over a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)connection, i.e., the content can be encrypted using a set of symmetrickeys shared for a session between sender 101 and server 106. Senderinstructions 104 can provide a user friendly GUI to a user at sender 101through which the sender-user can specify one or more DRM parametersthat control the content. For example, as discussed above, thesender-user can specify through the GUI that the content be delivered torecipient and persistently stored only on a CD. Server 106 can enforcethis sender-set policy by ensuring that the appropriate CD burninginstructions are installed at recipient 110 and an appropriate (e.g.,blank) CD is present at recipient 110 before sending the content torecipient 110. Server 106 can then interact with recipient 110 to ensurethat the content is properly installed (persistently stored) on the CD,and nowhere else. For example, server 106 can utilize controls such asthose proposed for computer systems by the Trusted Computing PlatformAlliance (TCPA), see <http://www.trustedcomputing.org>, and thePalladium system developed by the Microsoft Corporation of Redmond,Wash., see<http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2002/jul02/0724palladiumwp.asp>.The TCPA and Palladium controls help to provide assurance that acomputing platform operates in a trusted fashion, i.e., that is protectsthe confidentiality and integrity of content in accordance with policiesset forth by the rights holders in and to the content. These policiescan be implemented in software and/or hardware. The measures set forthin accordance with TCPA and Palladium requirements and/or specificationshelp to ensure that the software and/or hardware of a computing platformimplements the policies correctly, completely and exactly. The softwareused in an embodiment of the present invention to implement the policiescan include recipient instructions 113; processing instructions 109; andsender instructions 104.

FIG. 2 shows a message flow diagram in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention. Sender transmits content to the server, whichsends a notification to the recipient. The notification can include alink that can initiate the content delivery process from the server whena user at the recipient selects the link. The link can be selected assoon as the message is received at the recipient, or hours, days or evenweeks later. The recipient sends a message to the server to deliver thecontent. At that time, the server determines if the recipient has theappropriate recipient software (instructions) installed at therecipient, e.g., CD burning software. In this example, the recipientsends a message to the server indicating that the recipient does nothave such software installed. In response, the server automaticallyprovides the recipient software to the recipient, and the software isinstalled at the recipient. The correct installation of the software canbe verified with an exchange of messages between the server andrecipient. For example, when the software is installed correctly, it caninclude instructions to send to the server a code known to the serverbut not the recipient. If the received code is determined to indicate acorrect installation of the software at the recipient, then the serversends the content to the recipient. The content can be encrypted using acryptographic key, at least part of which is known by the server and notthe recipient.

The recipient installs the content, i.e., in this example, stores it ona CD. The recipient software can verify that the content is properlystored on a CD and, e.g., that no residual copy remains on anotherrecipient memory device, such as the hard disk. This can be done, forexample, by including instructions in the recipient software that canfind and erases any residual copies of the content from other memorydevices at the recipient. The proper storage of the content at therecipient can be verified by an exchange of messages between the serverand recipient, e.g., by causing the recipient to send to the server acode known to the server but not the recipient to indicate that thecontent is stored properly on the CD, and not on another memory deviceat the recipient. Upon successfully verifying that the content has beenproperly stored at the recipient, the server can send a cryptographickey to the recipient that the recipient software can use to access(decrypt) the stored content.

In accordance with other embodiments of the present invention, thesender can cause the server to apply more complex DRM controls tocontent sent from the sender to the server for delivery to a recipient.For example, the sender-user can specify through a GUI to limit thenumber of times that the content can be rendered (e.g., played, viewed,etc.) by the recipient. The content can be sent along with a DRMparameter (e.g., the maximum number of renderings for the recipientshall be 50) to the server. The server can encrypt the content using acryptographic key, and send the content along with authenticated DRMinstructions (e.g., instructions digitally signed by the server) to therecipient, after the server has verified that the recipient has theappropriate trusted platform (hardware and/or software) necessary toenforce DRM instructions (also, “DRM controls”) with respect to thecontent. The instructions can specify that the maximum number ofrenderings is equal to 50. The instructions can be sent attached to thecontent (e.g., appended as a header); encoded into the content as awatermark; or sent separately from the content to the recipient. At therecipient, the trusted recipient platform enforces the DRM controls bylimiting the number of renderings to no more that 50.

Also, the server can help to administer the DRM controls set by thesender. For example, the DRM controls set by the sender-user can specifythat a sender-user account be credited each time a content is renderedat the recipient. The server can send a control to the recipient whenthe recipient requests delivery of the content to cause the recipient tosend a message to the server (a “usage message”) each time the contentis rendered at the recipient. The server can then debit a recipient-useraccount and credit the sender-user account each time the content isrendered at the recipient. The server can collect a service fee from therecipient-user, from the sender-user, or from both for administering thepayment from the recipient-user to the sender-user.

The server can apply and/or administer redistribution controls forcontent delivered through the server from sender to recipient. Forexample, the sender-user can indicate through a sender GUI that therecipient can only redistribute the content through the server, andspecify to the server other recipients (or types of recipients) to whomthe content may be redistributed at the direction of a recipient towhich the content has been delivered. For example, the sender canspecify that the server can only redistribute the content sent to agiven recipient at the request of the recipient and only to otherrecipients having network addresses that correspond to a given secondlevel domain name, e.g., to users at aol.com. For example, a recipientof the content can send a request to the server to redistribute it to auser that has a content receiving and storing service that is hosted ataol.com, but not to a user having a content receiving and storingservice that is hosted at, say, earthlink.net.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a first user,User A, can send content to a second user, User B, and mandate that thecontent be stored on a CD at User B. User A and User B can be connectedto the Internet via broadband connections, and User B can have a CD-RWdrive in his computer. The users' computers can both be behindrouter/firewalls which perform network address translation (NAT) andblock incoming traffic. Assume that neither user has yet used thepresent invention.

User A utilizes his browser to visit a web site that implements anembodiment of the present invention, e.g., http://echospin.com. There heclicks on a link labeled “send a CD”. Clicking on this link initiates anauto-install process, e.g., using a signed ActiveX control that isinstalled into the browser, and launches the installation process.Sender instructions (also, “sender software”) can thereby be installedon the sender (User A) computer.

When installation is complete, User A is invited to register and createan account, e.g., requiring User A to supplying a username, e-mailaddress, credit card number, password, etc. The user can also enterother profile data, such as his own and prospective recipients' InstantMessage (IM) addresses, alerting preferences, etc.

After registration, the sender software can scan User A's system fordrives that support compact disks. If they are found and are empty, thesender software can prompt the user to place the CD he wants to send inone of the drives. If the sender software finds any music CDs in any ofthe drives, it can attempt to connect to a third party CD directory,e.g., via the Internet, to retrieve the CD's metadata. The CD's metadatacan advantageously be presented to User A along with a request to verifythat the identified CD is the one he wishes to share with a recipient.For example, rather than ask User A if he wants to send the “music discin Drive D”, the sender software can ask him if he wants to send “Bach'sUnaccompanied Cello Suites”, which corresponds to a CD in a first driveof User A;

Led Zeppelin: Star Profile, which corresponds to a CD is a second driveof User A; or Tom Clancy: Red Rabbit, disk 1. User A can select the CDhe wants to send, and can change the name of the CD if he wants.

The sender software can prompt User A to enter either the destinationaddress (e.g., e-mail address, IM address, or registered identifier ofthe person to whom he wants to send the content. The user can include atext message to be sent along with notification, and can aggregatecontent from different sources to be sent in a single transmission to arecipient. In this example, User A wishes to send the CD to User B, andenters User B's e-mail address and IM address. He indicates that theserver should notify User B via both email and IM, adds a short textmessage to be included in the notification, and clicks “send”. User Acan also add a short voice file with a spoken message; an image (such asa JPG image); a digital certificate; or any other data User A wishes.

After clicking send, the client software can begin the sending process.The sender software can display the progress of the transmission of theselected content from the sender (User A's) computer to the server. Thesender GUI can be minimized/hidden to work in the background. In sendingthe content in this example to the server, the sender software canextract the music/voice content and data (the disk table of contents, orTOC) from the CD. Of course, the content need not be limited to music orvoice, but can be any kind of content. Here, the music/voice content canbe ripped from the CD drive and transcoded on the fly to a file using anaudio compression algorithm. The resulting music/voice content and TOCare uploaded to the server along with User B's addresses and the textmessage. This (collectively, the “package”) can be stored at the server.User A can suspend this process at any time and resume it later, or elseabandon it.

Once the package has been received at the server, the sender softwarecan present a message to User A indicating that the package has beensuccessfully sent. The server can examine and verify the data that UserA has sent. The server can search its user database to see if User Balready has an account. If not, then the server can advantageouslycreate a new account in anticipation of User B. As requested by User A,two notifications, one via e-mail and the other via IM, can be sent fromthe server to User B. Each notification can inform User B that User Ahas sent him a CD entitled “Bach's Unaccompanied Cello Suites,” and caninclude User A's text note. The message can also contain a hyperlinkthat points to the server and includes a token, e.g.,http://www.echospin.com/unique-token;echospin.com/application?token=unique-token;http://unique-token.echospin.com; etc. The token can be unique to thenotification message (e.g., different for the e-mail and IM messages)and be stored in the server's database. This unique token can be linkedto User B's account; and/or to all or part of the package. Thenotification can inform User B that in order to receive the package,User B must click on the hyperlink.

If User B clicks on the link in either notification, his web browser canbe pointed (send an HTTP request) to the server. The server can return aweb page to the browser which contains code to detect whether or not therecipient instructions (also, “recipient software) is installed. Thiscan be done with a client-side script or a binary. The web page can alsohave a link which will launch the recipient software if it is alreadyinstalled, that is, the recipient software can intercept the request.

The web page can also download a recipient software auto-installer ifneeded. The auto-installer can install the recipient software, which canthen be launched. The recipient software can prompt User B to enter therequired data to complete his account registration. The recipientsoftware can then scan User B's system for a CD-R/RW device. If it findsmore than one such a device, it can prompt the User B to specify atwhich one he wants the package to be stored. User B can decide toreceive the package immediately or he can defer this for another time.If he elects to pick up the package, the client software can contact theserver and download the package. As with the upload, status can bedisplayed on the progress of each step, and the recipient software GUIcan advantageously be minimized/hidden to work in the background. Whenthe package is downloaded, the recipient software can decode thecontent. The recipient software can check for a suitable blank disc inthe recipient's CD-R/RW drive, and instructs User B to insert one ifneeded. The content can then be stored on the CD. Once the CD-R/RW hasbeen written, the client determines if the write was successful. If so,it can inform User B and report to the server that the package has beendelivered. The server can then send a message to User A to inform himthat the package has been received by User B.

In one embodiment, sender software can disable the sender's CD basedupon a DRM rule. For example, the rule may state that when the contentof a CD is sent from a sender to a receiver, then sender CD must bedisabled. In this case, the sender CD can be overwritten while or afterthe content on the CD is sent to the server for delivery to therecipient. Alternatively, the content on the sender CD can be encrypted,and the key can be deleted from the sender computer after the content onthe CD is sent to the recipient. Similarly, a rule may state that afterthree copies of the content are sent to one or more recipients, thesending CD must be disabled. This can be implemented similarly. An indexrepresenting the number of times the content has been sent can be storedon the CD from which the content is sent; on the sender computer; or onthe server.

FIG. 3 shows a graphical user interface (GUI) 300 that can be presentedto a user at sender computer 101 in accordance with sender instructions104 executing on sender processor 102. The GUI provides an opportunityfor the user to select a particular memory device 301 on which content(e.g., a file) to be transferred from the sender 101 to the recipient110 may be stored. In this example, the sending user can specify thatthe content be permitted to be stored on a CD-ROM at the recipient 110;a flash memory card at the recipient 110; and/or a hard disk at therecipient 110. This selection by the sending user can be mandatory, andcan be enforced by recipient instructions 113. For example, recipientprocessor 111 can include tamper resistant features, such as thoseproposed by the Trusted Computing Group (see<www.trustedcomputinggroup.com>) and set forth in the Trusted ComputingGroup, Main Specification, Version 1.1a. Seehttps://www.trustedcomputinggroup.org/downloads/tcg_spec_(—)1_(—)1b.zip.Recipient 110 can also store and execute trusted software such as thatproposed and developed by the Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.pursuant to the Palladium Next-Generation Secure Computing Base forWindows. Seehttp://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2002/jul02/0724palladiumwp.asp.Recipient instructions can execute in conjunction with trusted hardwareand software at the recipient 110 to reliably implement transferparameters specified by the sending user through the sender GUI 300.Thus, for example, if the sending user specifies that the content to betransferred from the sender 101 to the recipient 110 through server 106can only be stored on a CD-ROM or flash memory at the recipient 110,then the recipient instructions 113 can be trusted not to store thetransferred content to, for example, a hard disk at the recipient 110.

Likewise, recipient instructions 113 can also be trusted to implementdigital rights management controls established by the sending userthrough GUI 300. A digital rights management control is information thatcan specify how, when and/or where content with which the control isassociated may be used, distributed, stored, etc. Such a control canalso specify how much and who can be charged for a use, distributionand/or the storage of associated content. Such a control can alsospecify an action to be taken when the associated content is used,distributed and/or stored. For example, the sending user can specifythat the transferred content must be stored on a hard disk at therecipient 110 and that no further copy may be made of the copy of thetransferred content that is stored on the hard disk. Recipientinstructions 113 can be structured to implement this control by, forexample, storing a statement of the “no copy” policy in a tamperresistant fashion using trusted hardware and software such as thatdiscussed above. The recipient instructions 113 can intercept a requestto copy the transferred content from the hard disk, consult the policy,and deny permission to make the copy. In another embodiment, therecipient instructions can prevent the creation of a usable copy, e.g.,one stored on a portable medium at the recipient 110 (such as a CD-ROM)by causing the content to be stored in an encrypted fashion on a CD-ROMthat has a unique tamper resistant identifier and to securely store atleast part of the cryptographic key that is required to render (e.g.,play, display, use, etc.) the content and a statement of the “no copy”policy in a tamper resistant fashion at the recipient 110. When arecipient user seeks to use a copy of transferred content, the recipientinstructions 113 can consult the policy, determine if the copy sought tobe used is stored on a CD-ROM, and if so, if the CD-ROM has the sameidentity as the authorized CD-ROM. If so, then the key material can beused to render the content. Otherwise, recipient instructions 113 canrefuse to make available the key material required to use the content. Atamper resistant identity for a CD-ROM can be established by using afixed, tamper resistant serial number that is written to the CD-ROM.

The sending user may also specify a digital rights management controlthat mandates that no more than a given number of copies may be made ofthe file from the second memory device. In this embodiment, therecipient instructions 113 can mandate that a copy may only be made ifpermission is provided by instructions 113 executing on processor 111,and maintain a counter that is incremented each time a copy isauthorized. When the counter reaches the given number, no furtherauthorizations to copy are granted.

In another embodiment, the sending user mandates that no copy may bemade of the file from the second memory device if the number ofoutstanding copies already made of the file from the second memorydevice is equal to a given number. For example, the recipientinstructions can maintain a counter that is incremented whenever anothercopy is made, and decremented upon confirming that an existing copy hasbeen deleted or otherwise disabled (e.g., a cryptographic key needed touse a copy has been deleted). Recipient instructions 113 can withholdpermission to make another copy when the counter reaches the givennumber until one or more existing copies are deleted or disabled.

A counter can also be maintained by the recipient instructions 113 fortracking the number of times a copy is used. When the counter reaches agiven number, recipient instructions 113 can deny a request to use thecontent further. The recipient instructions can also store a fee amountto be charged to the recipient based upon the use of the copy stored atthe second memory device. In this embodiment, the recipient instructionsdebit a recipient account to the sum of the fee amount each time thecontent is used, when the content has been used a given number of times,the first N times the content is used (where N is an integer), etc.

The recipient instructions can also pay to the user a credit mount basedupon the use of the copy stored at the second memory device. Forexample, the content can include an advertisement. A user account can becredited (e.g., with money, with frequent flier points, with a discountamount for a good or service, etc.) each time the content is used, afterthe content has been used a number of times, the first M times thecontent is used (where M is an integer), etc.

The sending user can also elect to have a fee charged based upon theusage of a “secondary copy”, i.e., a copy made of the copy stored at therecipient 110. The fee can be per use of the secondary copy; a fee forthe first K uses of the secondary copy (where K is an integer); a feeafter the content has been used L times (where L is an integer); etc.

In one embodiment, the digital rights management controls can bepackaged with the content at the sender 101, e.g., added to the contentas header information. In another embodiment, the digital rightsmanagement controls can be associated with the content by the server,e.g., added to the content as header information at the server 106.Alternatively, such controls can be formulated and sent separately,either from the sender 101, the server 106, or both. A separate controlcan be associated with a given piece of content by associating the sameidentifier with the control as the content. The identifier can occur inheader information, be embedded as a watermark, etc. Digital rightsmanagement control information can be sent as part of the sendinginstructions, which can also include instructions as to the memorydevice on which the content is permitted to be stored at the recipient110.

FIG. 3 shows examples of selections 302 that can be made by the sendinguser to impose digital rights management controls on the content to betransferred. As discussed above and as shown in 302, the sending usercan require that the recipient user be able to make no copies from therecipient's copy of the transferred content; specify a maximumpermissible number of such copies; a maximum number of outstandingcopies; a maximum number of times a copy may be used; a fee amount basedupon use of the copy or copies; and a credit amount based upon the useof the copy or copies. Any or all of these parameters, as well as anyother suitable parameter, can also be set by server 106. For example,server 106 can implement a policy that requires a maximum permissiblenumber of copies for content that includes a given company (e.g., ACMEMusic Company) among its rights holders. The policies of the server 106can be made to preempt designations made by the sending user. Thus, ifthe sending user specifies that a given piece of content to betransferred from the sender 101 to the recipient through server 106 issix, and if a preempting policy at the server 106 mandates at most 4copies, then processing instructions 109 at the server 106 can overwritethe transfer parameter set by the sending user (six) with its ownparameter (four). As above, such a transfer parameter can be used byrecipient instructions 113 to enforce a digital rights management rulefor the transferred content at the recipient 110. Likewise, server 106policies can be preempted by sending user policies.

FIG. 3 also shows how a sending user can choose to have the recipientuser notified 304 that content sent from the sender 101 can be obtainedfrom server 106. The user can elect to have the user notified, forexample, by one or more of e-mail; instant messaging service; telephone;pager; etc., that content can be downloaded either from server 106 ordirectly from sender 101. The sending user can specify the appropriateaddress for each such notification, e.g., e-mail address; instantmessaging address; telephone number; pager number; etc.

FIG. 4 shows a graphical user interface 400 that demonstrates that thesending user can discover attributes of recipient 110 and furtherspecify the medium and digital rights management controls for thecontent transferred to the recipient 110, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. For example, sender instructions104 can interact with recipient instructions 113 (and/or can useprocessing instructions 109 at server 106), either directly in apeer-to-peer mode, or indirectly through an intermediate server, toidentify a specific memory device at the recipient on which content fromthe sender 101 is permitted to be stored. For example, as shown in FIG.4, sender 101 has discovered three specific storage devices 401 at therecipient, and the sending user can select one or more such devices aspermissible storage devices for content transferred from the sender. Ifthe sending user select more than one permissible device, then therecipient instructions 113 can present the option to the recipient userto select one or more (or only one) of the permissible devices uponwhich the content will be stored. A storage device can be authenticatedto the discovering software, e.g., the sender instructions 103. In thisway, the sending user is assured that he is sending content to anauthorized device.

A recipient memory device can be discovered and specified to the sendinguser in any suitable way. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the recipientmemory device can be specified by a device identifier; type (e.g., harddisk, flash memory, writeable CD-ROM, etc.); user name (e.g., therecipient user; the owner of the memory device; etc.); organizationidentifier (e.g., manufacturer's name; company-owner name; etc.); modelidentifier; capability (e.g., DRM-enabled, capacity (e.g., inmegabytes); speed (the rates at which data may be transferred to and/orfrom the device); bus compatibility (e.g., USB, PCI, SCSI, etc.); or anyother criterion or criteria that can be useful in designating arecipient memory device for receiving content from the sender. Arecipient memory device criterion can be any property of a recipientmemory device that can be required to store on that device one or morepieces of electronic content from a sender. If the sending userspecifies that only a memory device having the identifier 14534 maystore a given item of electronic content from the sender, then therecipient memory device must have that criterion (identifier 14534) tostore the sent content. If no such memory device having the specifiedcriterion or criteria exists at a recipient, then the sender can refuseto send the content to the recipient.

The recipient memory device can store a digital certificate and beauthenticated by the sender. For example, successfully verifying thecertificate can be a prerequisite to sending the content to a recipientmemory device.

The sending user can specify one or more attributes that a recipientmemory device must have to receive content from the sender, e.g., byselecting one or more of the options listed (and filling in theappropriate information where indicated) as shown in 402 of FIG. 4. Ifmore than one qualifying recipient memory device is found, then thedifferent devices can be displayed to the sending user. The sending usercan then select one or more of these devices to which content can besent and stored.

The content can be sent in accordance with the one or more criteriaselected by the sending user, either with or without a digital rightsmanagement control.

An embodiment of the present invention can permit a sending user tospecify that content be sent to a recipient only if the memory device onwhich the content is to be stored at the recipient meets certainrequirements. This can apply to one or more memory devices at therecipient. The sender can also associate one or more digital rightsmanagement controls with the content, which software at the recipientcan enforce. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that theforegoing examples illustrate embodiments of the present invention, andare not meant to limit the scope of the claims, which can encompassother embodiments not explicitly described above.

1. A method for sharing information, including: receiving sendinginstructions to transfer to a recipient a file, said sendinginstructions identifying a specific type of memory device on which thefile is permitted to be stored at the recipient; receiving the file;sending a notice to the recipient indicating that the recipient maydownload the file; determining by a computer microprocessor if transfersoftware to transfer the file only to the specific type of memory deviceis installed at the recipient; if transfer software is not installed atthe recipient, then sending by a computer microprocessor the transfersoftware to the recipient based on a request for the file from therecipient; and sending the file by a computer microprocessor to therecipient to be stored on the specific type of memory device only if thetransfer software to install only to the specific type of memory deviceis installed.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sending instructionsidentify the specific type of memory device to be a CD-ROM.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the sending instructions identify thespecific type of memory device to be flash memory.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the sending instructions further identify a digitalrights management control to be applied to the file.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, wherein the digital rights management control indicates that nocopy may be made of the file from the specific type of memory device. 6.A method for sharing information, including: receiving at least onecriterion that a memory device at a recipient must have to storeinformation to be sent from a sender, the at least one criterion being atype of the memory device; receiving a digital rights management controlassociated with the information; sending a notice to the recipientindicating that the recipient may obtain the information; and based on arequest for the information from the recipient, sending the informationby a computer microprocessor to the recipient to be stored on the memorydevice, if it is determined by a computer microprocessor that the secondmemory device has the one or more criteria.
 7. The method of claim 6,wherein the digital rights management control indicates that no copy maybe made of the file from the memory device.
 8. The method of claim 6,wherein the digital rights management control indicates that no morethan a given number of copies may be made of the file from the memorydevice.
 9. The method of claim 6, wherein the digital rights managementcontrol indicates that no copy may be made of the file from the memorydevice if the number of outstanding copies already made of the file fromthe memory device is equal to a given number.
 10. The method of claim 6,wherein the digital rights management control indicates a maximum numberof times the copy can be used is equal to a given number.
 11. The methodof claim 6, wherein the digital rights management control indicates afee amount to be charged to the recipient based upon the use of the copystored at the memory device.
 12. The method of claim 6, wherein thedigital rights management control indicates an amount to be credited tothe recipient based upon the use of the copy stored at the memorydevice.
 13. The method of claim 6, wherein the digital rights managementcontrol indicates an amount to be credited to the recipient based uponthe use of a copy derived from the copy of the file stored at the memorydevice.
 14. An apparatus for sharing information, including: aprocessor; and a memory coupled to said processor, said memory storinginstructions adapted to be executed by said processor to perform stepsincluding: receiving sending instructions to transfer to a recipient afile, said sending instructions identifying a specific type of memorydevice on which the file is permitted to be stored at the recipient;receiving the file; sending a notice to the recipient indicating thatthe recipient may download the file; determining if transfer software totransfer the file only to the specific type of memory device isinstalled at the recipient; if transfer software is not installed at therecipient, then sending the transfer software to the recipient based ona request for the file from the recipient and sending the file to therecipient to be stored on the specific type of memory device based on arequest for the file from the recipient only if the transfer software toinstall only to the specific type of memory device is installed.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 14, wherein the sending instructions identify thespecific type of memory device to be a CD-ROM.
 16. The apparatus ofclaim 14, wherein the sending instructions identify the specific type ofmemory device to be flash memory.
 17. The apparatus of claim 14, whereinthe sending instructions further identify a digital rights managementcontrol to be applied to the file.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17,wherein the digital rights management control indicates that no copy maybe made of the file from the specific type of memory device.
 19. Theapparatus of claim 17, wherein the digital rights management controlindicates that no more than a given number of copies may be made of thefile from the specific type of memory device.
 20. The apparatus of claim17, wherein the digital rights management control indicates that no copymay be made of the file from the specific type of memory device if thenumber of outstanding copies already made of the file from the specifictype of memory device is equal to a given number.